Kalamazoo

[jaxjj]

Does anyone remenber Bryn Evans who worked at Kalamazoo.

 

[Heather C]

My mom Doreen Davies (Cotterill) i believe in the book binding room…She left around 1965

 

[Pete L]

Kenny Arthur trained me on the big sheet-fed press - The Double Demy - A lovely bloke, always wore a tie and a cardigan.
Here he is having a sly lunchtime pint!

Guy on left is Reg Garrett?

 

[Pete L]

I worked for a company called Sakurai Machinery in the 80's and sold some Oliver litho printing presses to Kalamazoo. I particularly remember a lovely gentleman called Reg Garrett who I believe managed the print department then. I took a carful of guys from the printing department to our showroom in Hounslow to see and evaluate the presses. I got the order and went on to sell a few presses to Kalamazoo. I was a bit of a rookie then and selling these presses to Kalamazoo was a major coup for me at the time. Good wishes to anyone who remembers me.

 

[mickwilliams]

Heather and Malcolm are my parents. Unfortunately my dad died around 9 years ago, but my mother is still going strong.

hi your dad hired me 38 yrs ago in the warehouse and i broght a kitten off him

 

[KateD]

Does anyone have any memories of Kalamazoo? They made office equipment, and were based just outside Northfield. Also Druetts Film distributors.

Hi, I have discovered an old box from Kalamazoo when clearing my fathers house and it seems too good to throw away or recycle. I wondered if anyone would be interested in it? All I need is postage covered and I’ll post it as I live in Wiltshire. Unfortunately I cannot upload a photo, I have tried various methods but none work. I can send via email if anyone is interested.

Does anyone have any memories of Kalamazoo? They made office equipment, and were based just outside Northfield. Also Druetts Film distributors.

 

[izzy eckerslike]

Hi, I have discovered an old box from Kalamazoo when clearing my fathers house and it seems too good to throw away or recycle. I wondered if anyone would be interested in it? All I need is postage covered and I’ll post it as I live in Wiltshire. Unfortunately I cannot upload a photo, I have tried various methods but none work. I can send via email if anyone is interested.

adding a photo is fairly easy, just click the picture symbol you see between the paperclip and smiley face you see above when making a post then click to add a photo or drag one into the box that appears

 

[KateD]

Hi, I have discovered an old box from Kalamazoo when clearing my fathers house and it seems too good to throw away or recycle. I wondered if anyone would be interested in it? All I need is postage covered and I’ll post it as I live in Wiltshire, its about A4 size.

 

[barmy]

Hi All,

I worked at (and still work for Kalamazoo - name changed to AdareSEC - we trade as KalamazooDirect online and as Kalamazoo oversea.). 1979 to present day.

A few myths to correct:
Kalamazoo was a British company NOT American in the least. The name comes from Kalamazoo, Michigan. It's a native American word for where two rivers meet and translates as 'bubbling water'. The Quaker founders went there to look at a new book-binding system and chose that name for the company.

The Australian branch was where many a young printer went to work after their 5 year City & Guilds apprenticeship.

Leonard Wicks - Lithographic artist.
I did not know Leonard but I trained in the same role. It is not the same as being a Litho printer (I was a Lithographic printer for 13 years). Back in the day Leonard would have created logos and crests for company stationery using Indian ink, painted directly onto light-sensitive paper. This was then exposed directly to the printing plate (made from aluminium) under intense light.

Location
The site was split into two parts - The main office (called '72 Building') which you can see from Bristol Road and the Printing Factory behind and to the right of the main building. 72 Building originally house our office workers but transitioned to computer manufacturing in the '80s. This part of the company was bought by Reynolds (trade as Kalamazoo Reynolds).

"Wasn't there a Kalamazoo in Ward End somewhere?"
We bought the brand Kall-Kwik (high street printers) but we lost trade to Proto-Print.

Malcolm Horton and Heather Horton
I knew them both. I didn't have much to do with Malcolm, but I did visit Nurse Horton quite a few times as I kept getting my fingers caught between the printing press rollers!

Bob Preston
Didn't Bob have a Rolls Royce and perform as a chauffeur at weddings on the weekend?

John Swadling
"Swaddy" - What a great bloke. He worked with the electricians and engineers - a feared lot who survived on Tea and Fags. If ever you were sent to their department, you knew that you would be in for a bit of micky-taking!

I'm now the only one left in what is referred to as 'The Studio' or 'Pre-Press'. I started in a team of 27, but advances in technology mean that it only takes one person to do all of those previous roles. We are located in Redditch. The Northfield site was sold to make way for the housing estate.

I will post a few pics - see if you recognise anyone!

I could have sworn in the old book they gave you on induction day that the word meant "Boiling pot"
Theres only one person I know with initials of DLM, Channel Islands if I remember rightly who married my manager Sharon?
I drove past there for the first time in 30 years and how it has changed but its funny how you remember names. Shelia and Dave Farrell, Mary Green, Tony Hickson.... Bygone days

 

[DLM1962]

I could have sworn in the old book they gave you on induction day that the word meant "Boiling pot"
Theres only one person I know with initials of DLM, Channel Islands if I remember rightly who married my manager Sharon?
I drove past there for the first time in 30 years and how it has changed but its funny how you remember names. Shelia and Dave Farrell, Mary Green, Tony Hickson.... Bygone days

Yes - That’s me!
Boiling Pot was a reference to a test of manhood practiced by the local tribe of Michigan. A pot of water was placed on a fire and a young man had to run around the lake and make it back before the pot boiled if he wanted to be seen as an adult by the tribe.
Boiling Pot became the name of our in-house company magazine.
The company still trades as Kalamazoo Direct - we are MUCH smaller than in the glory days and only 2 or 3 of us remember the old Northfiled site.

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